1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a feeding device for use in feeding animals, preferably young pigs, and comprising a basis designed as a feeding plate, a frame fastened to the basis and supporting a tube, which is connected at its upper end to a feed reservoir and the lower part of which is arranged at a short distance over the feeding plate and in combination with the latter delimits an annular feed discharge opening having a height corresponding to the distance of the tube over the feeding plate, said tube being optionally mounted rigidly or movably on the frame.
The feeding device is particularly intended for use in feeding weaned young pigs having a weight of between 5 and 13 kg.
2. The Prior Art
Various feeding devices are known for feeding animals, particularly pigs. They have proven to be valuable in practice and have seen a great commercial success. The known feeding device is disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,119.
The known feeding device is based on the use of an elastically flexible feeding tube. Due to its elastic flexibility, the animals are able to apply their snouts to cause a strong movement in the transverse direction of the tube so that feed flows out of the opening of the tube and comes to lay on the feeding plate. The elastic yieldingness will bring the tube back into its normal starting position when the animal does not activate the tube. The tube is suspended so that in itself it is able to perform a slight pendular movement. These slight pendular movements will be very limited since, otherwise, there is a risk of free flow of fed and consequently a risk of feed waste.
The known feeding device has lead a very great success in feeding pigs. It has turned out, however, that it is difficult to obtain quite satisfactory results with the feeding device for little pigs having a weight from 5 to 13 kg. It has turned out that these little pigs do not possess sufficient strength in their snouts to give the available flexible tubes a sufficient yielding bend allowing a discharge of feed.
Although the tube may have a rather great length and consequently a fairly good chance of an elastically yielding bend, a feeding device having a shorter feeding tube will often be used for feeding young pigs, the reservoir being formed in the shape of a funnel-shaped container. In such a feeding device the length of the tube will be relatively short. Therefore, it will be difficult to obtain a sufficient flexibility for the feeding device to be suited for feeding young pigs.
Consequently, there has been a desire to raise the feeding tube over the feeding plate so that the height of the feed discharge opening is sufficient for the feed to flow unto the feeding plate by itself. However, this results in waste since the feed flows beyond the lateral edge of the feeding plate and down into the water trough from where the piglets are unable to eat it.
The present invention may also be used in combination with other types of feeding devices in which the feeding tube is a rigid tube which is either retained or which just has a possibility of slight pendular swings. In this situation the present invention will function as an alternative to other types of dosing arrangements of different mechanical structures. Such mechanical dosing arrangements are generally complicated and may frequently cause operation stoppages. Furthermore, the mechanical dosing arrangements will require a strong actuation. The strength in the snouts of young pigs has consequently turned out to be insufficient for such mechanical arrangements.
Thus, it is the object of the present invention to establish a new technically simple feeding device which may be used in combination with existing feeding devices and, thereby, extend their field of use into an efficient feeding of small animals, preferably young pigs.